News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2002

For further information:
217/782-4648

Bish J. Krywko of Round Lake selected to
serve on School Finance Authority

State Superintendent of Education Robert E. Schiller has appointed Round
Lake resident Bish J. Krywko to fill the unexpired term of Alejandro M.
“Alex” Solla on the School Finance Authority for Round Lake
School District 116. Solla was appointed to a two-year term on the Authority
in August but submitted his resignation when he learned that he was moving
from the area.

Mr. Krywko has lived in Round Lake for seven years and currently has
a son who attends Round Lake High School. Another son graduated previously
from Round lake High School.

Krywko is employed by the Checker Taxi Association, which provides services
to the taxi transportation industry throughout the Midwest. It is the
largest such association in the Midwest, with over 1,400 members.

The School Finance Authority was created August 22 when the State Board
of Education granted the District 116 Financial Oversight Panel’s
petition to create the Authority.

The Oversight Panel voted unanimously in June to petition the State Board
to authorize the School Finance Authority. The school district has been
plagued with severe financial problems for several years and the State
Board authorized the School Finance Authority after determining that the
petition is “in the best interests of the educational and financial
interests of the district.”

District 116 was placed on the state’s Financial Watch List and
as a result of their deteriorated finances, the State Board certified
the district as “In Financial Difficulty” on April 16, 1992.
Required financial plans were developed but failed to stop the flow of
red ink. The District faced a short-term debt of $10.5 million and long-term
debt of $37 million in April of 2000 when the district asked the State
Board to create a Financial Oversight Panel to improve its financial condition
and to make the district eligible for a state emergency loan and grant.

The Panel secured the emergency financial assistance of a $1.4 million
grant from the State and instituted several cost-cutting measures that
produced the first balanced budget for the district in over ten years.
Still, the district faced huge long-term debts that could not be met within
the existing structure. The Panel considered several options for assuring
long-term viability for the district and held several public hearings
to gather input on the financial and organizational options for the district.
The Panel concluded that a School Finance Authority, similar to one created
by the legislature in 1980 to stabilize the Chicago Public School District’s
finances, held the most promise for strengthening the education opportunities
for students and stabilizing district finances.

The Illinois General Assembly passed legislation last spring authorizing
the creation of a School Finance Authority with the approval of the State
Board of Education. Governor George Ryan signed the legislation into law
in June.